Catriona Argrave
Appearance Tall, slim and wiry, if Catriona hadn’t been blessed with pretty green eyes or full lips, it wouldn’t take much binding for her to pass for a boy. Her dark hair used to be long and braided, but since her departure from Starkhaven she’s cut it short herself, leaving it uneven and more than a little haphazard. She has a few scars about her person, mainly on her back and legs, but she does have one old and thin scar that tracks high across her right cheek from cheekbone to ear. She has several earrings and studs in each ear and an enchanted necklace gifted to her by her brother. Her armour is a short and sleeveless leather jerkin (with many buckles and straps) over leather leggings that are tucked into her boots, and she has long leather arm pieces that are strapped from wrist to midshoulder. On her sword belt tucked under one of her poison pouches is a small shield bearing the Starkhaven crest. Personality Catriona makes every effort to keep her personal emotions in check as befits her training out of respect for her patrons. Following the Vael massacre, the burning of the Circle and the disappearance of her brother however (see History) she is less concerned with keeping up appearances and more concerned about the task at hand – namely, finding her brother and serving the remaining member of the Vael family – so, potentially, anything could happen. Biography The Argraves The Argraves are (or more accurately, were) a small noble family in Starkhaven with a long-serving vassals Vaels. With their lands on the very banks of the Minanter, the Argraves profited from both the crops on the fertile land and the fish from the plentiful river, providing the city with a steady food supply. However, most of those profits were primarily invested in protecting the holding from Tevinter slavers that either ventured across the river or attempted to take entire fishing vessels. When Catriona’s grandfather inherited the holding, he trained his eldest son, Lennox, in the usual management and mercantile skills and sent his younger son Ramsay to train with a guild of assassins in Starkhaven. No one can really pinpoint when it happened, but the major cities of the Marches have long had their own guilds of assassins with patrons amongst the city’s nobles. With the Bards of Orlais on one border (before Nevarra broke away from the Marches) and the Crows of Antiva on the other, internal organisations to combat and compete with the shadow agents of foreign lands were perhaps inevitable. Although called “assassins”, a Marcher operative is more likely to be contracted for more bard-like escapades (such as spying or sabotage) than for traditional assassinations. Catriona Catriona and her (older) twin brother Finley were born in 9:08 Dragon to Lennox (shortly after he inherited the holdings) and Lady Aileen (nee Orrick, a noble house in Markham). Those early years were typical for children of a noble family, their futures already defined: Catriona was to be brought up for an alliance creating marriage, and Finley was to take over the Argrave family. Things started to go wrong for the Argraves in 9:12 Dragon when Lady Aileen gave birth to a stillborn son. She never quite recovered from the experience, and died some months later. Distraught, Lennox became withdrawn and the twins became even more inseparable, weathering the grief together. In 9:16, the worst nightmare for any noble family occurred: Finley started showing signs of magic. When Finley was taken away to the Circle, Catriona endeavoured to follow her twin, running away to the city four times. On one of these attempts, she was found by her uncle who, in becoming more dedicated to fighting the slavers and their Magister masters, was based in the city of Starkhaven itself at the order of Prince Vael. Ramsay got permission from Lennox for Catriona to move to Starkhaven with him to become an apprentice of sorts, and (through Prince Vael) arranged for Catriona to have privileged visiting time with Finley in the Circle. Eventually, convinced that the magic was from Aileen’s side, Lennox remarried. Although he didn’t formally disown Catriona, they had little contact following Cat’s move to Starkhaven. Lennox died in 9:27, leaving the holding to his second wife and young son. In time, Catriona became a skilled assassin in her own right, and, along with her uncle, one of the Vael family’s personal operatives. Although she spied for the across the Minanter into Tevinter and Antiva where she would either source information on future attacks or eliminate the threats before they could manifest. When the Vael’s were attacked by the Flint Company, she was on her way back from one such excursion. Her uncle, who had been working for the Prince on more political intelligence matters, was also killed in the massacre, and her brother (now an enchanter at the Circle) is missing following the arson attack of the Circle. After finding out that the surviving mages of Starkhaven were taken to Kirkwall by Templars, and knowing that Prince Sebastian was sent there, Catriona headed south to find her brother and her de facto liege lord. Timeline 9:27 Dragon *Tantervale - On The Rocks 9:31 Dragon *16 Solace; Sundermount - Due South *17 Solace; Sundermount - A Random Encounter *18 Solace; Sundermount - Duty: One of Three (complete) *22 Solace; The Chantry - Nocking Point *24 Solace; Hightown - Catharsis (complete) *25 Solace; The Chantry - Lalochezia *26 Solace; The Hanged Man - A Marcher's Gratitude *29 Solace; The Hanged Man - An Unlikely Connection Relationships *Finley Argrave (NPC) - twin brother *Sebastian Vael - liege lord Talents *'Dual Weapon:' Backstab, Unforgiving Chain *'Subterfuge:' Evade, Stealth (Silent Running) *'Scoundrel:' Back-to-Back *'Shadow: 'Pinpoint Precision Additional Links Blood and Fire: a short story Category:Original Characters Category:Character Index Category:Marchers